TA
Theo Aldridge
Roast
Theo trained as an architect before realising he was happier measuring grams of coffee than millimetres of timber. He’s the one who insists on the 4kg batch cap, even when demand would happily double it.
· ABOUT ·
What happens
to coffee when
nobody’s in a hurry.
Slow Press is a small Brixton roastery answering one question. We roast in batches of 4kg, never more, ship within seven days of roast, and ask you to brew it slowly.
· FOUNDERS ·
The people
behind the press.
AO
Amara Okonkwo
Sourcing
Amara spent four years sourcing coffee for cafes across East London before deciding the answer was to roast it themselves. She finds every farm, negotiates every price, and writes every tasting note that ends up on the bags.
· A BRIEF HISTORY ·
From a bad coffee
to three rooms.
2024
The bad coffee question
Theo and Amara meet over a particularly bad coffee in a Hampstead cafe. They argue about whether coffee can be good if it's served by someone in a hurry.
2024 — 2025
Eighteen months on farms
They apprentice with small-batch roasters from Yirgacheffe to Huila to the highlands of Sumatra. They learn what coffee tastes like when nobody is rushing it.
April 2026
The Brixton arch
They open a tiny roastery in a railway arch on Atlantic Road. Two drum roasters. One rule: nothing leaves the building until they'd happily drink it themselves.
June 2026
The first cafe
A counter goes in next door. Locals start asking for the same beans they tried at the counter to take home. The bag design starts taking shape.
Late 2026
Shoreditch & Hampstead
Two more rooms open. Same rule. Same batches. Same beans the founders are drinking that week.
· HOW WE WORK ·
Four rules,
no exceptions.
01
4kg batches
We never roast more than 4kg at a time. It's the most coffee one person can attend to without splitting their focus.
02
Single origin
We don't blend. Every bag traces back to one farm, one varietal, one season. We tell you which.
03
Seven days fresh
Every order ships within seven days of roast. After that, we drink the rest of the batch ourselves.
04
No shortcuts
We don't ship to anyone we wouldn't happily serve at the counter. If a batch isn't right, we don't send it.